ANIMAL WHEEL

Wheel Animal (GZ120) emanates from the quiet mind of this mysterious artist, whose serene minimalist design for Swatch is full of space. The piece centres on a corroded-looking, rust-eaten wheel with four spokes whose purpose seems hard to pin down. As the eye comes to rest on the quiet, deep image, grand ideas form in the mind—the history of timekeeping, or navigation by the light and position of stars. There is also something alive and creature-like about the wheel, suggested by the name and its organic quality. Its earthy colours and fragile form remind us that even the most complex machines come from the materials of the natural world.

Gent

Not Vital

The enigmatic Swiss artist and sculptor who goes by Not Vital draws from the traditions of minimalism and conceptual art. Inspired equally by Euclidian geometries and the realm of fantasy, pop culture, and organic materials, the artist uses marble, silver, wood, and plaster to create mysterious spaces in which the concept and history of the work’s production are part of the final piece. Often site-specific and of varying dimensions and configurations, Not Vital’s works are known to be tactile, puzzling, frequently amusing, and strangely touching.